


Without You

by historyofamanda



Series: Annabelle Shepard [2]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 18:30:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12216468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/historyofamanda/pseuds/historyofamanda
Summary: Annabelle Shepard loses a part of herself.Warning: ME3 spoilers!





	Without You

**Author's Note:**

> Annabelle Shepard is from Earth, specifically the state of Georgia in the United States Of America and she speaks with a thick southern accent.

The sound was deafening as Kalros took the Reaper down in one final, devastating blow. 

Annabelle watched in awe at the sheer size of the two beings fighting in front of her. She had no time to marvel at the sight because the genophage cure was only moments away.

She ran into the bottom level of the Shroud tower, the walls ablaze and crumbling around her.

“Shepard.”

Mordin stood in front of her, staring down thoughtfully at the vial in his hands.

“Must distribute cure from top floor. No other way.”

Annabelle’s heart dropped.

“No.” She replied sternly, tears beginning to burn in her eyes.

“Shepard, must-“

“Mordin, no!” She yelled, running towards him so they were only inches apart. 

“No, we can’t lose you to this war too. I can’t lose you.”

“You are best friend I’ve had in my lifetime, Annabelle. Salarian lifespan short, but know a true friend when I see one. You will always be a part of me. Will miss you dearly.”

Tears began to pour down Annabelle’s dirt stained cheeks. She couldn’t process this, that she’d be losing someone she loved so much forever.

“Mordin, please. There has to be some other way. We can still get out of here, disperse the cure another way or rebuild the Shroud or something!”

“No other way. Cure viability decreases by the moment, will not be able to synthesize another cure in time. No other dispersal method sufficient. Krogan and turian relations hang by thread. No. Must be now. My work. My cure. My responsibility. Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong.”

Annabelle knew he was right, and it was destroying her.

She threw herself into Mordin’s arms and hugged him as tightly as she could, cherishing every last second and trying her best to burn this moment into her memory. He patted her hair softly, and tears fell down his face too as they shared their final moment together.

“Win this war Shepard. Know you can.” Mordin said, pulling out of their embrace.

“I hope we meet again some day.” Annabelle said softly, attempting to smile despite her heartbreak.

“Know we will. Will meet you on the beach someday.”

“And run tests on the seashells?”

Mordin smiled.

“Of course.”

Mordin approached the elevator and Shepard placed her hand on the glass as the doors clicked shut. Mordin placed his hand where hers was and smiled at her one last time.

“Goodbye, Mordin.“

The elevator rose up and Annabelle dropped to her knees, her sobs echoing through the room.

After a few moments she stood up and ran out of the building, knowing she too wouldn’t survive if she stayed much longer.

She ran a safe distance away and looked up at the Shroud. 

Boom. Boom.

The top of the tower exploded in a blaze of red and orange, followed by thick black smoke. But at that same instant, what looked like light green snow flew from the Shroud, filling Tuchanka’s atmosphere with the genophage cure.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She smiled, though she ached inside. Mordin’s final mission was successful, and she knew he was in a better place now. She felt almost as though she could feel his presence among the warm Tuchanka atmosphere, and it brought the tiniest bit of comfort to her.

She made her way back to the rendezvous point and the moment Garrus locked eyes with her, he knew what had happened. 

“Annabelle. Oh spirits, oh no. Mordin, he-“

“Yeah.” Annabelle replied, so low it was almost a whisper. “He sacrificed himself to put things right. He said…it had to be him. That someone else might’ve gotten it wrong.”

Garrus immediately wrapped her up in a tight embrace.

“Oh Bella, sweetheart. I know how much Mordin meant to you, how close you two were. I’m so sorry.”

Annabelle had seen plenty of death in her lifetime, but nothing had hurt her the way this hurt now. She turned her face into Garrus’ chest and sobbed until her voice was nearly gone.

She somehow managed to compose herself enough to speak with Wrex and Bakara.

“I am so sorry, Commander. Mordin told me countless times how fond he was of you. I truly believe he was special. A unique and kind soul.” Bakara said, her voice soft and supportive.

“We’ll make sure he’s honored properly, Shepard. You are a hero to the Krogan people and today marks the start of a new beginning for my people.”

“We will not waste this gift you have given us.” Bakara said reassuringly.

Shepard smiled weakly. She and Garrus shook Wrex and Bakara’s hands, said their goodbyes and headed back to the Normandy. 

On the walk from the shuttle bay to the elevator, Annabelle was completely silent.

“Bella, if you want to talk or anything we can-“

“Thank you, Garrus. I think I just need a little bit of time alone right now.”

Garrus nodded, knowing anyone’s words were of little help to her right now. He went to his quarters and contacted the rest of the crew, letting them know to leave the Commander be for a while.

Annabelle waited a few hours until the Normandy’s crew had all gone to sleep and made her way down to the war room. Two guards posted at the door saluted her as she walked in.

The room was silent and dark, lit only by the starlight shining in through the window. Annabelle stopped and looked around her. This is where the old Tech Lab used to be. She closed her eyes and tried to visualize as it was before the Normandy became an Alliance ship and the Tech Lab was removed.

Her and Mordin had kept in constant contact since their first meeting on Omega. She had lost count of the amount of hours she spent sitting propped up on a table in the Tech Lab talking to Mordin while he worked. They shared life stories, war stories, technical notes, jokes, songs, and everything in between. Mordin discovered his love of cornbread through Annabelle’s family recipes that she shared with him one night, and many more nights after. Annabelle discovered her love for Salarian opera through several nights spent with Mordin watching vids of them. Annabelle considered Mordin to be her platonic soulmate, someone whose fate was forever tied to her own. When he died, she felt like a piece of her died with him.

She felt her legs go weak as she stood at the table near the window, right in the spot where Mordin stood the most conducting various experiments.

She slammed her fists on the table, so hard they stung.

“God damnit, god damnit, god damnit!!!” She cried out.

It became too much for her, and she collapsed to the floor, burying her head in her knees. Her sobs were heavy but silent, soaking her clothes with warm tears. 

“Mordin-I, I don’t know where you are now. I know it’s better than this hell hole we’re living in back here right now. You’ve only been gone a few hours but oh God, it seems like an eternity. Oh, what I’d give to have you back my sweet, sweet friend. We always said you’d meet my Momma and Daddy, but we ran out of time. They would’ve loved you. They would’ve cooked you so much amazing food you’ve never been able to stand up again.” She let out a small, tearful laugh.

“I remember when we first met and you told me you thought my accent was fascinatin’. You called it my ‘dialect.’ That still makes me laugh just thinking about it. You’d never met someone that sounded like me, and you used to give me words to say just because you liked how I said ‘em. You always put up with how homesick I was. I taught you way more about Georgia than you probably ever wanted to know and you never complained one bit. I...have so much more I wish I could tell you.”

She looked down at her feet, her breathing slowing.

“Oh honey, Garrus loved you too. He never got tired of me talking to him about you, about all the wonderful times we spent together. He told me you were the first person to convince him to tell me how he felt about me. Even though he was embarrassed by some of the diagrams you showed him.” 

She laughed again, wiping a tear off her face.

“He was truly special, Shepard. I know that you meant the world to him.”

Annabelle looked up and Garrus was standing in front of her. 

Tears filled up in her eyes again.

“Oh Garrus. Oh darlin’ I just don’t know what to do. My heart is just in a million pieces.”

“There’s nothing to do right now, my love.” Garrus said softly, sitting down on the floor next to her. She quickly nuzzled herself into his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her waist and hugged her close to him.

“I feel...I feel so angry. I’ve never felt as angry as I do right now. The Reapers are still alive and Mordin isn’t and that just makes my blood boil and my skin crawl. He should be here with us now.”

“I know. Nothing about this war is any kind of fair. That’s why it’s up to us to make this right, to make Mordin’s sacrifice mean something even more. I know he had all the faith in the universe in you. We’re going to win this thing. For the ones we love, the ones we lost.”

Annabelle held onto Garrus tightly, desperately afraid that at any moment he might disappear too.

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with pain, but also newfound determination.

“Damn right we will.”


End file.
